Laying linoleum on a wooden floor: methods of leveling and flooring. Rules for laying linoleum on a wooden floor: technology, important points How to lay a wooden floor under linoleum

26.10.2023

What can anyone do if they have no experience in repair work? Whitewashing the ceiling, wallpapering, laying linoleum. This is enough to make the house shine with new colors. If the floor is made of wood, then you need to know a few points about laying linoleum on a wooden floor.

Humanity's need for high-quality, comfortable and beautiful flooring has always been great. The earthen floor was replaced by clay, then concrete, covered with boards, then parquet - the history of the development of flooring is considered not in years, but in centuries. After all, it is much more pleasant to walk on a flat, warm, even soft surface. So people came up with oilcloth - a mixture of oil, resin and wax on a fabric base. Now science and technology give us more and more new species, using natural and artificial materials.

Variety of colors

Performance characteristics. For rooms, a medium-strength household coating is suitable, and for the kitchen and corridor - a semi-commercial coating, whose wear resistance is greater than that of the previous type.
Softness and elasticity. For an apartment, it would be more convenient to use a material with a felt or foam base, which gives the coating good sound and heat insulation properties. The foam base, moreover, almost does not shrink and is not afraid of water, which is why it is often used in the kitchen.
Colors. The greatest number of patterns and colors is available in a multi-layer coating made of foam materials. The thickness of the painted layer is 2-6 mm, the thickness of the protective layer (on which the service life depends) is 0.15-0.7 mm.

PVC linoleum with non-woven (felt) base

We remember that the most wear-resistant types are used in rooms where the load is maximum - the kitchen and corridor.

For rooms with medium and light loads, increased performance properties are not necessary.

Preparing floors for laying linoleum coverings

Linoleum should be laid exclusively on a flat horizontal surface. If the floor is uneven, with protrusions and bumps, then in these places it will begin to wear faster and break, forming cracks.

Rough floor leveling

Consider the situation with regular painted wood floors. What should be done:

Remove baseboards;
Remove the paint (this can be done with a regular spatula, heating the paint with a hair dryer);
Check the strength of the flooring from the boards (if some boards begin to rot, they need to be replaced with fresh ones);
Eliminate mobility and creaking of floorboards (the easiest way here is to attach the boards to the joists with self-tapping screws);
Deepen the heads of nails and screws into the boards, preferably to a depth of at least 5 mm;
Fill cracks and chips, lay patches in cracks wider than 5 mm;
Level the floor surface (it will be most convenient to use a parquet sander);
Thoroughly clean the floor of debris and dust (vacuum, wash the floors, dry well).

If the height differences are small (no more than 1-2 mm), then you can start laying. In the case of very old floors, when perfection has not been achieved, you can try a couple of the simplest options for leveling the surface to the desired state.

We use plywood (chipboard, OSB or MDF)

The choice of underlay depends on the unevenness of the subfloor. The greater the height difference, the thicker the substrate sheets we choose. For small differences, plywood from 5 mm thick is suitable. If we are leveling the floor in the kitchen or bathroom, then we need to use waterproof plywood. We select plywood sheets in such a way that they are laid in strips offset relative to each other by about half a sheet (brickwork). We leave a gap of about 10 mm near the walls, but there should not be one between the sheets.

We apply special glue or mastic to the pre-treated floor (add construction plaster to PVA glue until it becomes thick sour cream). This mastic should perfectly fill the unevenness. We lay the sheets, fix them with self-tapping screws in increments of 15-20 cm, deepening the head as much as possible. We fill the gaps between the plates and the heads of the screws with putty and sand them. And you can even walk along the joints with a plane.

We wait for the plywood to dry and treat it with hot drying oil (you can simply paint it with quick-drying floor paint). After drying, installation is carried out.

We use a self-leveling mixture

To level in a simpler way, a self-leveling mixture is used. Such mixtures can be purchased at construction stores. With their help, differences of up to 2 cm are leveled out. However, it should be remembered that the mixture is quite liquid, so during pre-treatment it is necessary to thoroughly putty all the cracks, ensuring tightness.

We impregnate the prepared dry surfaces with a special primer, which enhances the adhesion between the floor boards and the mixture. We cover the sides of the walls with insulating material, and glue the joint with expanded polystyrene, creating an expansion joint. In the doorway we place a wooden plank that limits the future floor.

We lay out a reinforcing mesh (with an overlap of 5 cm) and fasten it to the boards with a construction stapler. Mixing thoroughly, add the dry mixture to the water. Pour in, distribute evenly with a rubber spiked roller or rubber mop. Dry according to the manufacturer's recommendations. After drying, lay the linoleum covering on the wooden floor.

We measure the dimensions according to the largest lengths and widths of the walls, taking into account doorways, ledges and niches, with a margin of 5 cm on all sides. If you choose linoleum with a pattern, then add to the dimensions a repeat of the pattern in each direction.

The temperature in the room where installation will be carried out must be at least 15°C (and the optimum is 18°C) and remain for 48 hours before installation and the same amount after it. Air humidity is 40-60%, floors are dried as much as possible.

The purchased material should be spread on the floor with the pattern facing up and left for a day or two so that it can spread out well and acclimatize. If you bought it in winter, then let it stand in the roll for 24 hours before rolling it out.

Flooring is laid in several ways. First, we lay it out on the floor (the plinths have an overlap of 4-5 cm - if the walls have ledges or niches; if at least one wall is flat, then we lay the linoleum along it with a gap of 1 cm, with an overlap on the opposite wall). We level the canvas from the center to the walls. It should lie flat, without bends or creases. The drawing should go along the longest wall. We make cuts in the corners for a better fit of the coating to the walls. All trimming is done in small sections along a metal ruler.

Free styling rules

Free installation on a wooden base

Suitable for rooms up to 20 square meters. m inclusive, where there will be no heavy load on the floor (for example, constant rearrangement of heavy furniture). Linoleum on a thick base, most often foam, is well suited for this layout. It should be selected as a whole piece, so as not to make unnecessary joints, which may move during this installation.

The straightened canvas is covered with aluminum nozzles under the baseboards, and secured in the doorway with metal slats.

Fastening with double-sided tape

We cut the stock to fit the baseboard

To fix it more firmly, the sheets are placed on double-sided tape. We glue the tape on one side along the perimeter of the floor. For better fixation (if there are sufficiently intense loads on it), the adhesive tape is glued in stripes over the entire surface, or crosswise in places of the highest load.

We glue the linoleum itself in parts. Having folded half of the canvas, remove the protection from the tape. We straighten this part, fixing it with tape. We bend the second half and repeat the operation. After it is laid evenly and glued, we trim the overlaps with 10 mm gaps at the walls. Next, we lay the baseboard and secure the linoleum in the doorway with a batten.

Bonding technology

Applying adhesive for installation

If the room is more than 20 sq. m or more than two strips will be laid, then it needs to be placed on glue. What glue to use is most often indicated in the instructions, and a salesperson at a hardware store can also give advice on this.

First, we cover the floor and the lower part of the canvas with a primer and only then proceed to gluing. Having folded back about a third, use a notched trowel to evenly distribute the glue or mastic. We lay linoleum on top of the adhesive layer, straightening it and pressing it well to the floor. It is best to press with a special heavy roller or wooden block. We carefully ensure that no air bubbles remain between the floor and the covering sheet. We move the roller or block in the direction from the center to the walls. We glue the remaining material in exactly the same way.

We process the edge along the walls in the same way as in previous cases, install a plinth and a fixing strip.

The glue should dry from 7 to 10 days. During drying, make sure that there is no swelling of the linoleum. If a bubble does appear, you need to put a plywood sheet on it, and put something heavy on top, for example, a bag of sand.

Joining two or more strips of linoleum

If the room is too large or you are simply unlucky to find a covering of the required width and you have to lay two (or more) strips, then such joints also need to be glued. The overlap of the strips should be at least 10 cm. We carefully monitor the coincidence of the pattern. We cut both layers approximately in the middle of the overlap. We achieve a perfect combination of canvases, joint to joint.

Now these joints need to be glued. The most convenient way is cold welding. Apply masking tape along the seam. We guide the tip of the tube with cold welding glue along the joint of the strips. The fusion adhesive should penetrate 2-3 mm into the seam. We leave the excess to evaporate. Under no circumstances should you remove it yourself! Once the edges are completely welded, the masking tape can be removed.

These are all the main secrets of proper installation of linoleum flooring. The worse the condition of your floors, the more work you will have to do and vice versa.

Enjoy your renovation!

The question of the advisability of laying linoleum on wooden floors remains open for many owners, since wooden flooring has many advantages that linoleum is unlikely to beat. The article will discuss how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor in an old house so that the defective coating becomes beautiful and reliable.

Features of wooden floors

The specificity of wooden floors lies in the following features:

first of all, wooden floors are a multi-layer “pie” structure, where in addition to the flooring there is a base of logs, thermal insulation and waterproofing;
It is also worth considering that a certain microclimate is created under the wooden flooring with constant humidity and a small temperature range. Moisture entering such an environment dries quickly, since high-quality wooden floors have a good vapor barrier layer.

After laying linoleum on a wooden floor, the owner will disrupt this microclimate. This can lead to the most serious consequences: increased humidity, changes in thermal conductivity and deformation of base materials. To minimize the risk of such processes, it is necessary to create high-quality ventilation for the subfloor.

Even if you have already laid linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands, it is not too late to create air ducts in the floor. Decorative grilles will help to harmoniously combine them with the interior of the room, which will look original in the photo and upon visual inspection. The result of creating such passages will be the absence of wood rotting, the formation of fungi and the proliferation of insects.

Preparation for installation of linoleum

By analogy with any work on laying floor coverings, linoleum can be installed only after preparing the rough surface (plank flooring). Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it is necessary to create a perfectly flat and strong base for it. Quite often, fiberboard is laid under linoleum on a wooden floor to level the surface.

Any changes in height or kinks in the flooring material can lead to the formation of cracks or burst areas during operation. It is impossible to restore linoleum, which means you will have to replace it, which entails new costs.

It is important to check wooden floors before laying linoleum for:

creaking in certain areas;
gaps between flooring elements and cracks in them;
poor quality boards;
mold, mildew, etc.

Any of the above defects, if detected, must be removed, but if there are many of them, then we are talking about a complete replacement of the coating. Before installing linoleum on a wood floor in an old home, it is worth considering the feasibility of completely replacing the flooring used as the base. It is quite possible that replacing it will solve all the problems and laying linoleum can be abandoned.

However, the article is not about alternatives to linoleum, but about how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor to get a radically new coating with excellent performance and visual characteristics. You can eliminate all the above defects yourself.

The procedure for restoring a wooden base consists of the following steps:

creaking and wobbly boards need to be secured better;
rotten and leaky ones - spot-replace with new ones;
cracks and cracks - seal using special mixtures for working with wood;
the final leveling is done by scraping.

However, even the steps described above will not help make the subfloor perfectly level, which means additional measures will be required. The easiest way is to use special materials to level the base, which will also have a wood structure.

We are talking about plywood and moisture-resistant fibreboards. If you are leveling a floor with a significant number of sagging boards, then it is better to use particle boards or gypsum fiber sheets.

Such materials are fixed to the base using an adhesive mixture and self-tapping screws. The combination of these two elements for installation will create a durable support for linoleum. In the photo and upon visual inspection, the base will give the owner a perfectly flat floor, which is very much appreciated by buyers.

When attaching a sheet leveler to a wooden floor, it is necessary to screw in the screws below the surface level (recess the caps) so that in the future, when sanding, you do not damage the equipment and then tear the linoleum on such elements.

It is necessary to lay sheet material in staggered intervals: laying is done end-to-end, but with some displacement (by analogy with the deck method of laying plank flooring). This will increase the stability of the base and distribute the load created by the residents evenly over the entire area of the room.

Choice of linoleum

Before studying the instructions on how to properly lay linoleum on a wooden floor, you should decide what type of material to purchase for installation.

It should be selected according to a number of criteria:

purpose by type of room: semi-commercial material - for kitchen units, corridors and hallways, household option - for bedrooms and other rooms with a small number of visitors;
the width of the linoleum sheets is very important, since it is much easier to lay one sheet than two end-to-end;
The thickness of linoleum must exceed 3 millimeters.

Beginning of work

When asked about how to properly lay linoleum on a wooden floor, every specialist can say with confidence that the material must be adapted to the conditions of the room where the installation will take place.

For this purpose, linoleum is brought into the room and unfolded on the floor (for a couple of days) so that it acquires its optimal proportions under the temperature and humidity conditions of the room in which it will be used. Moreover, the material is deployed only indoors, and transportation occurs in its original state in the form of rolls.

The so-called compensation gap is necessary in case the sheets expand when the room temperature rises. When stuck against the wall, the linoleum will swell, and a centimeter margin is quite enough to avoid such problems. The gaps will be closed using skirting boards and there will be no visual discomfort in the room.

Installation algorithm

All further actions are performed in a certain sequence:

a sheet of linoleum should be folded in half lengthwise and placed on one half of the room;
the unoccupied area of the floor is coated with the adhesive mixture using a roller or brush;
after 10-15 minutes, when the glue gets a little stuck, you need to bend the top edge of the sheet and secure it to the coated area;
You must immediately take a clean roller and use it to smooth out any unevenness (without pressing too much) remaining after installation;
then the second part of the sheet is turned over onto the already laid half of the floor, and the glue squeezed out on the floor is removed with a rag or sponge. It is impossible for glue to get on the linoleum from the outside, as this will lead to the formation of stains that cannot be removed by anything;
for the second sheet the algorithm of actions is similar;
at the end, you need to let the floor dry for 24 hours and secure it around the perimeter of the baseboard to complete the finish.

In fact, there are only a few problems that may arise during installation:

difficulty leveling the wooden base;
the need to use two sheets of material.

If we have figured out how to level the base, then how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor in two stripes will be discussed further: without delving into the process, but with a description of its main stages.

Installation of linoleum on a wooden floor in two stripes

There are several options for laying linoleum in two stripes, but the simplest is overlapping and then trimming the top layer. When working, you must use a sharpened knife and a long wooden strip (rule).

The resulting sheets are laid by analogy with the previous section, written for single-strip installation. An additional measure is to pour an adhesive composition similar to a sealant into the joint.

There is a more complex method that requires the use of a welding machine and a polymer cord. Using the machine, this cord can be poured into the seam between the sheets. Beginners will never be able to cope with such a procedure on their own, and therefore they will need the help of specialists.

Less applicable is the method using double-sided self-adhesive tape, which is used to cover the perimeter of the room. This installation option is not the most reliable, and there is a risk that the tape will be of poor quality, which means that the linoleum will peel off within a minimum period of time after putting it into operation.

Bottom line

The article describes in detail how to properly lay linoleum on a wooden floor on your own, and it certainly becomes clear that this is not the easiest thing to do. To get the most durable and even floor covering, you should show maximum care, accuracy and patience.

It is best to contact specialists who will take responsibility for all stages of installation - from selecting the necessary materials (taking into account the wishes of the owner) to laying linoleum and putting it into operation.

Linoleum is a universal material that can be laid on both wooden and concrete floors.

Linoleum is used in the decoration of residential and commercial premises. It has a wide range of colors: plain, with a pattern, with imitation of other coatings (wood, parquet board, stone, etc.).

This article will discuss the technology of laying linoleum on a wooden floor. A brief description of the types and types of linoleum is also given.

Types of linoleum differ in the material from which they are made, and types - depending on the base of the linoleum.

Kinds

Natural: made from linseed oil, wood flour, lime and other elements. Expensive, but impractical. It gets dirty easily, absorbs dirt, and is difficult to clean.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): inexpensive, highly wear-resistant. Easy to install and care.
Rubber, wear- and moisture-resistant.
Nitrocellulose, expensive and fire hazardous.
Alkyd, good thermal insulation properties.

Types

Linoleum with a base made of fabric or foam materials.
Baseless linoleum.

Wear resistance classification

Despite the fact that each manufacturer has its own classification, there is a generally accepted standard for dividing linoleum according to wear resistance:

household, with low wear resistance;
semi-commercial, with increased wear resistance;
commercial, highly wear-resistant.

Household linoleums serve in apartments for twenty to thirty years. But use in places with traffic of thirty or more people per hour will lead to a reduction in the service life of the coating.

Semi-commercial linoleum is used for laying on the floors of small shops and cafes.

Commercial is used for public places - canteens, large shops, offices.

Laying linoleum

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, you need to prepare the surface for laying, prepare the linoleum itself, and therefore lay and secure it.

Preparing the wooden surface

The technology for laying linoleum on a wooden floor depends on the thickness and type of material, the condition of the floor and the size of the linoleum. Thick insulated linoleum is suitable for laying on old floorboards without prior preparation. You just need to replace damaged, cracked or rotten boards and remove the baseboards.

To lay linoleum with a thickness of 3-5 mm, repair the boards, remove the plinth and cover the floor surface with plywood or chipboard (chipboard). Allowable gaps between sheets are 1 mm. After laying the plywood or chipboard, fill the gaps. To do this, mix the shavings and dust obtained when cutting sheets with PVA glue and fill the cracks with this composition. The complete drying time for the putty is two days. After drying, sand the seams with sandpaper.

To lay thin linoleum, repair the floor and cover it with plywood or chipboard, fill the seams and sand the surface. The purpose of this operation is to smooth out the base. During processing, check the base with a two-meter long building level. Height differences of more than 5 mm per two meters are unacceptable. Use a sander to smooth out any protruding areas.

Preparation of linoleum

Having prepared the base, bring the linoleum into the room where the renovation is being carried out and leave it for 3-4 days. This is necessary so that linoleum is laid on a wooden floor without cracking the coating. After that, start marking. If the size of the linoleum allows you to lay it in one piece, you will not have to weld the individual parts together.

Spread the linoleum around the room, avoiding any free areas. This will help you see where and how much the covering needs to be trimmed. It is advisable to start adjusting the linoleum from any of the far corners of the room. Trimming is done with a stationery or sharp shoe knife.

Properly fitted linoleum fits neatly into place. If it fits the wall, apply new markings and adjust it. A gap of 0.5-1 cm is allowed between the wall and the linoleum, which will subsequently be closed with a fillet or plinth. A larger gap will make it more difficult to secure the linoleum.

Use caution when pruning. Carelessness can result in damage to the linoleum or personal injury.

Trim the linoleum around the perimeter of the room, avoiding the appearance of gaps larger than 1 cm. If decorative fillets of small width are used, reduce the gap tolerance to 1-3 mm. This is not difficult if you do the work carefully and without haste.

When using linoleum, the size of which is smaller than the room, you will need to join the edges of the sheets. If you have a welding gun for linoleum, the distance between the sheets should be 2±1 mm. If there is no gun, adjusting the edge is not acceptable. Lay the sheets so that the edges are completely in contact, then adjust to the size of the room.

Consolidation

In 90% of rooms, linoleum is attached to the wooden floor using skirting boards and fillets. But if the area of the room exceeds 25 square meters, it is advisable to lay linoleum with glue. How to glue linoleum to a wooden floor depends on the base of the linoleum. Materials based on fabric, nitrocellulose and felt are glued using water-based glue. For gluing PVC, rubber or alkyd linoleums, special adhesives are used.

Spread and level the linoleum. After this, turn any corner so that half the length or width of the floor is exposed. Apply glue to the base and back side of the linoleum with a roller, then gradually lower it down, leveling the laid areas and preventing wrinkles from appearing. The edge of the linoleum should be lowered last. Having laid the area coated with glue, glue the second half of the wall in the same way, then walk over the glued areas several times. This will give the adhesive joint the necessary strength.

After this, roll up the un-glued linoleum into a roll and glue it in the same way.

How to glue linoleum to a wooden floor? Adhesives for natural substrates are not suitable for artificial substrates, and vice versa. Using the wrong adhesive will damage the linoleum and require you to sand the base to remove any remaining adhesive.

To secure the joints between the sheets, use a heat gun or joint glue, it is called “cold welding”. Instructions for use are on the tube.

Once the linoleum is glued down, cut and install baseboards or fillets.

Only attach skirting boards and fillets to a wooden base. Don't forget to drill and widen the holes for the screws so that they are completely recessed into the baseboard. After fixing the linoleum, putty the places where the screws are attached.

If you comply with the requirements for preparing the base, marking and securing the linoleum, it is not difficult to perform high-quality installation. Errors at any stage will lead to the quality of the coating being worse than expected. In half of the cases, when the cutting is done incorrectly or the wrong glue is used, you will have to completely replace the linoleum.

Video - how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor yourself:

Linoleum is one of the widely used floor coverings, which is actively used in residential and public spaces. If there is a concrete base, laying this coating by professionals can be done quite quickly. But today there are still many houses where boards are used as flooring and the technology for laying linoleum is slightly different. In this article we will tell you whether it is possible to lay linoleum on a wooden floor and how to do it correctly if you decide to do all the work yourself.

Wood floor inspection

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it is necessary to properly prepare the base, since the quality of installation and the service life of the coating directly depend on this. The work begins with an initial inspection and analysis of the condition of the boards. To do this you need:

Check that each board is securely fastened at all points. Check for any deflections or play in the web;
Inspect for damage in the form of rotten areas or partial darkening of the board as a result of exposure to moisture;
Make sure there are no fungal growths or mold, as well as the absence of rusty fastening elements;
Check if there is a squeak when walking on the floor. If creaking occurs, then the cracks between the boards can be sprinkled with ordinary talcum powder or graphite powder.

Important. If a rotten area or fungal formation is discovered, then before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, the damaged boards must be replaced with new ones, and make sure that there is no damage to the load-bearing floor joists, if any. It is not recommended to try to eliminate the fungus by mechanical cleaning and coating with antiseptics. The pores of the fungus penetrate deeply into the wood tissue and no treatment guarantees their complete removal.

Preparing the floor surface

First of all, you need to remove the remnants of old paint and all other debris from the surface of the boards. If the paint holds firmly, then you can leave it, removing only the peeling areas. Pick up the paint layer with a chisel or spatula; if the paint comes off easily, it is better to clean the surface of the boards completely. In difficult places, you can use a hair dryer or paint remover. Then level the surface as much as possible and make sure that the fastening elements of the boards do not stick out above the floor plane.

Important. Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, the boards must be covered with plywood or fiberboard to create a level base. It is not recommended to lay linoleum directly on the boards, since they have a slight deflection when walking or installing furniture, which will lead to stretching and rapid wear of the linoleum.

Plywood or fiberboard is laid on the boards, with a sheet thickness of 8-12 mm. The thickness of the plywood sheet is selected based on the degree of deflection of the boards. If the logs are located at a large distance and the boards sag, then it is better to use thicker sheets to compensate for the bends.

For your information. Laying plywood on a wooden floor under linoleum is done joint to joint. To secure the plywood, wood screws with a countersunk head are used, which, when screwed in, should not protrude beyond the sheet.

When laying sheets of plywood, simultaneously level the hearth using a level. If the screws are tightened too tightly, the plywood sheets may become deformed. If the sheets are thin and when screwing in the self-tapping screws it is not possible to maintain a flat surface, it is necessary to use a drill to make recesses in advance for the screw head to enter into the slab.
Then the plywood laid under linoleum on a wooden floor is sanded at the joints with sandpaper. The joints are sealed with wood putty and, after drying, sanded again to achieve a smooth base.

If the flooring boards are relatively fresh and strong, then instead of laying plywood, you can scrape the surface to level out small differences, but in this case it is advisable to use linoleum with a dense base.

At this point, the surface preparation is completed and the final step before laying the linoleum will be the complete removal of dust using a vacuum cleaner and a slightly damp rag.

Preparation of linoleum

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it must be laid out on a prepared surface and left for several days. During this time, the material will acquire room temperature and straighten out for convenient work with it in the future. In places where linoleum does not adhere well to the floor, you can lay heavy objects with a flat base, such as books or boards.

Important. Make sure that during the purchase and transportation of linoleum, strong bends of the canvas are not allowed. If there are kinks on the purchased material, then it is better to return such material back to the store and ask for a replacement.

If it is not possible to return the product, then before laying linoleum on a wooden floor with bends, it is recommended to straighten the broken area as much as possible and press it with a heavy object. PVC-based linoleum can be heated with a hairdryer to remove cracks. However, the coating on a natural basis will most likely not be able to be leveled and the bend will have to be cut out to create a joint.

After the material has straightened and acquired room temperature, you can begin cutting the canvas, having first removed the baseboards. To do this, you need a ruler, at least two meters long, and a construction knife with a retractable blade. When cutting PVC linoleum, leave an allowance at the edges for shrinkage, which at high temperatures can be up to 2% of the area.

Installation of linoleum

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands begins with determining the direction of the pattern. For example, it is better to lay plain coatings or products imitating marble or granite in the direction of the incident light from the room window. This will help visually hide the joints, if any. If the color of the coating has a relief or multi-colored texture, then there is no difference in the direction of installation.

For your information. In the absence of a plywood backing, linoleum is laid parallel to the direction of the boards so that the joint is in the middle of the board. If there is a plywood base, the direction of laying colored or textured material does not matter.

Monitor the indoor microclimate and avoid drafts. During straightening and laying of linoleum, the room temperature should not be lower than +16 and not higher than +35 degrees Celsius.

Choosing a method of fastening linoleum

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands, you need to choose an option for attaching it to the surface. Today there are three options, such as:

Laying without gluing. The method is the simplest and fastest, but it can only be used in a room of up to 10 square meters and in the absence of connecting seams.
Laying on tape. In this case, the canvas is fastened with special double-sided tape along the perimeter of the linoleum sheet and at the joints.
Laying with glue. Glue mounting is the most effective installation option and contributes to the longest service life of the coating. However, the process is quite labor-intensive and is required for rooms with an area of more than 20 square meters.

Important. With the second or third installation option, there may be a need to join several sheets. In order to make a perfectly fitted joint, you need to overlap both sheets by about 8-10 cm. Then we fix both sheets to the surface with glue or tape, not reaching 2-3 cm from the overlap point. We lay the ruler exactly in the center of the joint and make a deep cut in two materials at once as evenly as possible, obtaining an ideal joint. After this, coat the wooden floor under the linoleum at the joint with glue or lay down tape, and then glue the material.

Let's start installation

When laying linoleum on a wooden floor without glue, it is necessary to finally level out all the unevenness of the coating from the center to the edges of the room. With sufficient exposure, the coating should lie as flat as possible. Then we cut off the excess material with a construction knife along the wall, making a gap for expansion of approximately 0.5 - 1 cm between the wall and the edge of the canvas. After this, skirting boards are installed, which simultaneously fix the position of the covering.

When laying using mounting tape, it is first glued around the perimeter of the room, without removing the protective layer from the outer adhesive side. Further, all actions occur in the same way as in the first option. After leveling the coating, its edges are folded back, the protective tape is removed from the tape and the edge of the canvas is glued, after which the baseboard is installed.

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor is carried out in the same way as on a regular concrete floor. Linoleum is glued in parts, having previously prepared the adhesive composition. The entire coating is conventionally divided into two parts, then one part is folded back and the adhesive is applied to the floor surface using a spatula or roller. The glue is left for 20-30 minutes, then the bent material is glued to the surface. After this, the procedure is repeated with the second half.

Linoleum is a practical and visually attractive floor covering that is found in houses, apartments, dachas, offices, shopping centers, public institutions... Almost everywhere. How to lay linoleum, how to do it correctly - read on.

On what basis

Even when choosing a floor covering, the question arises of what to lay linoleum on. Is it necessary to prepare the foundation and, if so, how seriously? The answer is simple: linoleum can be laid on any base. The main thing is that it is smooth, durable and clean. Preparation takes place and can be easy and quick if the base is level. In this case, the floor is simply cleaned and dried. If the floor has potholes or large uneven surfaces, preparation takes longer. For correction, screed or self-leveling mixtures can be used; dry screed with sheet building material (plywood, OSB, MDF boards) is also used. It all depends on the type of base.

Concrete and wood floor

You can easily lay linoleum on a concrete floor. In general, there may be differences on the surface, the main thing is that they are not local - small and deep pits and tubercles are excluded. There may be changes, but they are smooth. If there are significant unevennesses, it is better to fill in a leveling screed before laying linoleum.

This finishing coating is also laid on a flat wooden floor. Many people think that the wood will rot underneath it. If the wood is dry, without signs of infection with fungi and mold, then nothing will happen to it. When laid correctly, a sealed layer is obtained, so that moisture does not penetrate inside. If there are seams, they are welded so that moisture penetration into them is unlikely. To prevent water from getting under, choose wide models and press them well to the floor. A more reliable way is to lay self-adhesive tape under the linoleum along the perimeter for sealing.

If the boardwalk itself is made correctly, with normal ventilation, then there is no reason for it to rot. If you are very worried, before laying linoleum, treat the floor with antiseptics.

If there are noticeable cracks in the plank floor, they will be visible on the flooring after some time. If they are small, they can be puttied and the surface can be leveled using sanding. Sometimes the floorboards arch, lifting slightly at the edges. It will not be possible to sand such a floor - there are a lot of nails. In this case, or if the gaps are too large, it is recommended to put sheet material on top of the boards - plywood, OSB, MDF. They are good because they do not have very high thermal expansion, and OSB does not yet absorb moisture (you can take moisture-resistant plywood), and this is important in wet rooms (in the kitchen, for example).

And fiberboard as a base for linoleum is not a very good option - when humidity increases, they swell, and the fiberboard goes in waves. After drying, the original shape is not restored, so the linoleum laid on top becomes hunched and wrinkled.

Before laying linoleum, you need to lay or. This is necessary if the plank floor “plays” and the boards sag. If you lay the coating directly on the boards, it will crack in the places where it bends, and quite quickly. This means replacing the floor covering, and problems with the boards are also possible - moisture can seep into the cracks.

This is what it means “with seams running apart”

When laying any sheet material to level the floor under linoleum, it is laid with the seams staggered so that they do not coincide (like brickwork). Small seams are left between the sheets, which are then filled with elastic (non-hardening) mastic.

Is it possible to lay new linoleum on the old flooring?

Let’s say right away that before laying linoleum, it is advisable to remove the old coating. But this can be problematic and then it is permissible to lay flooring on top of an existing one. This is true only if the old floor is smooth or unevenness can be repaired. New linoleum is laid on the old floor, on tiles, on parquet. If there are defects in the base - chips, dents, protrusions - they are eliminated, sealed with putty, trimmed, the seams between the tiles are rubbed down so that the surface is even.

Lay linoleum on parquet, tiles or other linoleum. But only under one condition - the base must be level

There are usually no problems with old linoleum as a substrate. If there are bumps, they are pierced, filled with glue, and the cracks are coated with a repair compound - cold welding for type “C” linoleum or sealant. When laying new linoleum on old one, there may be another problem - it will turn out too soft and significant depressions may form under the legs of the furniture.

On parquet, as well as on plank floors, it is advisable to lay a backing made of sheet material - the planks can also “walk”, tearing the coating.

To glue or not

Before laying linoleum, you need to decide whether you will glue it or not. There is an opinion that it is not necessary to glue it in houses and apartments. It is pressed against baseboards, furniture, large appliances, etc. All this “holds” him in place. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It usually works on hard semi-commercial and commercial types of coating, but does not work on softer - household ones.

It's a matter of thermal expansion. In the summer, when it’s hot, linoleum expands, “creeping out” from under furniture and appliances. In the fall, it shrinks to its previous size, but does not return under the furniture. Waves and bumps form. Therefore, the majority agrees that it should be fixed.

If you don't glue it, it might look like this

Just keep in mind that linoleum either does not need to be glued at all, or glued completely. Glue it in some places - you are almost guaranteed to get humps and swelling after a while.

What to glue

Before laying linoleum, you need to figure out what to glue it with. If the room is small, lay household linoleum in one piece on a smooth base (sheet material, old linoleum, etc.), you can fix it with double-sided tape. It is secured securely, but due to thermal expansion, humps may form between the tape strips. Therefore, if you glue linoleum, then use glue.

There are two types of adhesives:

The first option is more familiar to us, but when changing the coating you have to suffer for a long time, tearing off the coating and glue residues from the base. The fixation holds the “shift” no less reliably, but allows you to easily re-lay it several times (from 5 to 8 depending on the composition).

Fixations

Fixations are used for laying household and semi-commercial linoleum. If we talk about the price per liter, then fixation is much more expensive. But its consumption is much less (100-180 g/square), so gluing one square meter will be cheaper. From all points of view, this is the best option. Here are some normal fasteners to work with:

There are other manufacturers, new products appear every day. But, before purchasing, read the instructions carefully. See that it can be used on your base, with your type of coating.

Adhesive for linoleum

You should definitely not use solvent-based glue (neoprene). Technologies have changed so that such glue produces a color change (red spots appear). This glue can only be used to glue marmoleum (a material based on natural ingredients).

If you decide to use glue, here are the brands that give good results:

If you need to save money, household linoleum “with a pile”, on a jute or foam base, can be glued to PVA or Bustilat M. If it is placed on concrete, screed or other similar coating, first the glue is diluted with water (1 to 1), and the surface is primed with this composition (maybe twice). Then PVA or Bustilat is applied and the coating is rolled out “on wet”.

How to glue linoleum joints

There is a special glue for joining linoleum joints. It is called “cold welding for linoleum”. These are small tubes with a sharp spout, with which the composition is filled directly into the joint. It does not so much glue as it dissolves adjacent areas of the coating, creating a sealed seam.

There are two types of cold welding for linoleum:

When laying linoleum, naturally, type A is used. Pay attention to the instructions for use. They come in different types and require different drying times.

If you haven’t worked with cold welding for linoleum joints before, practice first on scraps. Once you have mastered the technology and understand what and how to do, you can start gluing joints indoors.

One more point: the glue for joining linoleum joints does not polymerize until it releases harmful substances. Therefore, windows and doors are opened in the room, providing ventilation. It’s better to work with gloves, and a respirator won’t hurt.

How to lay linoleum with your own hands

In order for self-laid linoleum to be pleasing to the eye, not to swell or wrinkle, it is necessary to fulfill several mandatory points. The first is related to the preparation of the foundation. You already know that it should be even. In addition, it must be dry and clean. No dust or any grease or other stains. We collect everything with a vacuum cleaner, remove stains with a suitable product, and dry everything thoroughly. We do all this carefully: dust impairs adhesion to the base, and debris particles will eventually appear through the coating.

The second mandatory condition: before laying linoleum, it must “rest” for some time in a straightened state. Preferably at the installation site. It is rolled out and left for at least 2 days, but better - for 5-7 days. So it straightens out and takes on “working” dimensions. After this you can start cutting.

How to trim

Let's start with how to cut linoleum. There are two options - a knife and scissors. Both can work normally, they just have to be sharp.

Some people find it more convenient to use a stationery knife, but a shoe knife or a sharp kitchen knife will also work, although there are special ones. They have a retractable blade, like stationery knives, but their handle is curved and the blade almost does not bend.

On a utility knife, the ridges that hold the blade must be iron. In this case, the blade is more elastic and there is less chance that the cut will go to the side. It is precisely because the blade can “lead” that some craftsmen prefer powerful scissors. To make cutting easier, they make an incision, and then, without making cutting movements, they simply rip the coating along the intended line.

Now about where to trim. Roll out the linoleum so that it extends slightly onto the walls. If there are several canvases, an overlap of at least 5 cm is made at the junction. If there is a pattern, lay out the canvases so as to achieve a match. Then the connection point will not be noticeable.

The linoleum is cut in the corner, the joint remains overlapped and is trimmed after gluing the main part. The canvas is pressed to the floor and cut off with a knife or scissors. Please note that if work is carried out in a cool room, in summer the coating will increase in size due to high temperatures. If you cut the canvas close to the wall, in the summer a roller will form near the baseboards. Later, at lower temperatures, it can stretch, but in the summer it spoils the appearance. Therefore, when cutting, retreat from the wall about 1 cm.

Glue to the base

If you decide to lay linoleum without gluing, it is usually fixed along the baseboards with double-sided tape. The same material is glued in the door area. In this case, turn away the edges and stick tape on the base. We return the edges to their place and carefully level the coating. After making sure that it lies flat, without distortions or waves, remove the protective tape from the adhesive tape and glue the covering.

If you work with glue, you act a little differently. Roll the covering up to half its length. The composition is applied to the floor (strictly according to the instructions). If there is a joint, a strip about 35 cm wide without glue is left on both sides of it. After waiting the time prescribed according to the instructions, the linoleum is rolled out again and pressed well.

The technology requires a pressure roller - a heavy cylinder (about 50 kg in weight), movably mounted on a handle, which squeezes out air and presses the coating to the base, ensuring good adhesion. If there is no roller, take a plastic smoother, which you use and press everything well. You can use a board wrapped in felt or felt or something similar.

Then glue the other side. If the canvas was laid in one piece, we can assume that the installation of linoleum is completed. All that remains is to secure the baseboards. If there are any joints, we continue.

Seam processing

If there are two or more canvases, the seams will need to be processed. There is a simple way - take a T-shaped metal strip and secure it at the joint (attached with screws or dowels, depending on the type of base). The method is not very aesthetic, but reliable. This is exactly what they do if two pieces of linoleum with different colors are joined under the door.

A more aesthetically pleasing way is to use cold weld linoleum glue. First you need to trim off the excess material at the joint. We take a metal ruler (a level or a rule will do), apply it at the joint, cut both sheets along it with a knife, and remove the excess strips. It is very important to cut through both sheets at once. In this case, if the pattern is chosen correctly, the connection is imperceptible, since the two canvases match perfectly. If the base under the linoleum is hard, you can put something soft under the joint - a piece of felt, linoleum, etc. Then it will be easier to cut both sheets at once.

We unscrew the non-glued parts of the coating along the seam, apply glue, wait, if necessary, the time according to the instructions, glue the coating in place, and roll it with a roller. We wait the time required for the glue to dry (according to the instructions).

Next, we take cold welding for linoleum joints and wide masking tape. We glue the joint with this tape, then use a utility knife to cut it along the joint. This is necessary to protect the coating from accidental contact with the composition. It is chemically active and will melt the coating, leaving an unsightly stain. The next steps are:

If everything is done correctly, the joint is almost invisible. There is no need to test it yet - several hours are required for final polymerization. But that's all. Linoleum is laid and you know how to lay it yourself.